Santa Ana tries to tackle out of control students at Spurgeon

Students cross Fifth Street as the school day begins at Spurgeon Intermediate. The Santa Ana Unified School District says it has beefed up school staffing and hired a private investigator to examine problems there, after staff filed a "hostile work environment" complaint earlier this month.KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SANTA ANA – Santa Ana Unified has beefed up staffing and hired private investigators to look into safety concerns at Spurgeon Intermediate, where teachers say teens and pre-teens are accosting adults, turning desks over and smoking marijuana in class.

The problems have become so bad that 36 teachers and classified employees filed a "hostile work environment" complaint earlier this month.

The complaint was the first of its kind ever sent to the district, said Art Jimenez, director of constituency services at the district.

"I don't want to sugar coat it or say the concerns are not valid," Jimenez said. "They are. There are concerns about student behavior that we need to address."

Students at the school physically accost teachers, regularly trip fire alarms, argue with security staff and throw objects in class, according to a copy of the complaint obtained by the Orange County Register. They make sexual noises in class and run through the hallways banging on doors with little or no consequences.

In perhaps the most brazen incident, a student smoked marijuana in a classroom, undeterred by the presence of a substitute teacher, according to the complaint.

"It's a lot like 'Lord of the Flies,'" Spurgeon language arts teacher John McGuinness said. "They've allowed the rough element to take over and run the place."

Jimenez said the district has taken swift action to intervene since receiving the March 1 complaint.

In addition to assigning two extra security guards—which doubled the safety staff at the school—the district has also sent two retired principals, an administrative clerk, additional custodial staff and substitute teachers. It also launched an internal review that included interviews with every teacher on site.

The external investigations firm, Alvarez and Associates, will also look at the extent of the problems, Jimenez said.

"Where was the breakdown that made teachers feel the way they feel right now?" Jimenez said. "What happened?"

ESCALATING PROBLEMS

Spurgeon, which enrolls around 1,100 students, has always had its share of tough students and discipline problems, several teachers said. But behavior problems have gotten worse in the last few years, said McGuinness, Spurgeon's representative to the teacher's union.

Students throw eggs at teachers, set fires in urinals, and even threatened to stab a teacher this year, McGuinness said. Just last week, a student spit on him, McGuinness said.

"You feel like there is a weight on your shoulders all the time. You feel defeated," McGuinness said of morale at the school. "And a lot of us feel sad, because there are a lot of good kids not getting the education they deserve. We have great teachers, we have great technology, but these other students with their constant disruptions are stealing our time."

Jose Gonzales, whose son started at Spurgeon this year, said he is not concerned about his son's safety at the school. But he worries about the presence of drugs on campus.

"He says there is a bathroom that always smells of marijuana," Gonzales said.

Teachers say many factors are involved in the problems plaguing Spurgeon. They say few disciplinary measures are in place at the school, and security staff is often too busy to respond to calls for help from classrooms. According to the complaint, school police told staff "Don't call us anymore."

"What happened at Spurgeon is the whole discipline structure collapsed from the administrative perspective," said Susan Mercer, president of Santa Ana's teachers union. There were no consequences for inappropriate behavior that started to escalate."

Mercer said the principal was relatively inexperienced and didn't have the strong leaderships skills needed.

"(The principal) didn't know how to address all the discipline problems they were having," Mercer said.

Related Links

Students cross Fifth Street as the school day begins at Spurgeon Intermediate. The Santa Ana Unified School District says it has beefed up school staffing and hired a private investigator to examine problems there, after staff filed a "hostile work environment" complaint earlier this month. KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Students arrive mostly on foot as the school day starts at Spurgeon Intermediate where the Santa Ana Unified School District says it has beefed up school staffing and hired an investigations firm to examine problems there, after staff filed a “hostile work environment” complaint earlier this month. KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A custodian cleans a street signal base in front of Spurgeon Intermediate as the school day starts. The Santa Ana Unified School District says it has beefed up school staffing and hired a private investigator to examine problems there, after staff filed a “hostile work environment” complaint earlier this month. KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The Santa Ana Unified School District says it has beefed up school staffing at the school and hired an investigations firm to examine problems there, after staff filed a “hostile work environment” complaint earlier this month. KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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